Re: OT : XDA Exec deal ? - Supplementary

["Stuart Poulton" <stuart.poulton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

No mater who you talk to you'll get a differrent story about the effects of
electonic on avionics.

CAA Research: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=800

This from the internet also presents the problem in a different light

"I've had lengthy discussion with Qantas about this issue and was even
issued a copy of the flight manual stating that all PDA phones must be
turned off at all times. The reason given in the manual was that it was
impossible for the attendants to be 100% sure that flight mode is on given
the number of different devices on the market.
Now, I've done a fair bit of reading on the effects of mobiles on planes.
Now, mobiles are very smart devices, the closer they are to a tower, the
less power / wattage they use. Obviously , the further away they are, they
up the wattage to maintain the signal. When there is no signal, the mobiles
use full power until they find one. One phone on a plane at 30,000 feet
isnt
a problem, but 200 phones looking for a signal at full power does produce
an
audable buzz to the pilot's headset. However it has been proven that it has
NO effect on navigation. ShadowLee is spot as Boeing are testing a cell
tower in a plane. 200 phones on low power (as the cell will be very close)
won't be a problem.
As for mobiles ignititing petrol fumes? Virtually impossible. Even at full
power mobiles cannot produce enough power to ignite the fumes. The only way
it could start a fire would be if the battery separated from the phone as
the terminals could produce a spark.
If u can cast yout memories back a few years, Qantas actually allowed city
flyer flights to use mobiles once u landed and the seat belt sign was off.
With my old Smartphone I got constantly asked to turn it off (one time the
attendant got quite aggressive), but with my mini I'm yet to have a problem
(touch wood) and I travel every fortnight. I just keep my fingers over the
phone symbol buttons which seems to help.
Anyway, hope this helps. "

Personally, I'd rather the plane stay in the air, and not have to listen to
the saleman next to me reasoning with his customers.

S